Virtual Colonoscopies Help Identify Additional Tumors Outside of the Colon

It is less invasive than optical colonoscopy and may improve patient adherence and CRC screening. In addition to intracolonic findings, CTC examines the entire abdomen and pelvis similarly to a CT scan. "The ability of CTC to identify significant extracolonic lesions at an early treatable stage may increase the yield of CRC screening, thus enhancing CTC as a major screening technique,” said Ganesh R. Veerappan, M.D., lead author of the study, published in the September 2010 issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR).

The study, performed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (Washington, DC, USA) included 2,277 patients who underwent CTC. Of those patients, extracolonic findings were identified in 1,037 patients, with 787 insignificant and 240 significant findings. "When considering extracolonic findings, CTC increased the odds of identifying high-risk lesions by 78%. CTC should be considered as an alternative to optimal colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening or as a onetime procedure to identify significant treatable intracolonic and extracolonic lesions,” concluded Dr. Veerappan.

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Walter Reed Army Medical Center